An important George III polychrome-decorated inlaid satinwood D-shaped commode circa 1785

The D-shaped top painted to the back edge with an oval reserve with putti flanked by cornucopia within a semi-elliptical reserve within scalloped floral garlands and a banding painted with flowering foliage, the conforming case fitted with a frieze drawer above a pair of cupboard doors each centered by an oval reserve painted en grisaille with classical figures, the side panels likewise with oval reserve and painted en grisaille with musical trophies, the whole raised on tapering square legs.

With Partridge & Sons, Ltd., London, March 1938
Apter-Fredericks, London, 2002

illustrated in Apollo, March 1938, Frank Partridge & Sons, Ltd., advertisement

Overall very good condition; the top with very minor rippling; the painting of the top mostly in-tact and very finely executed; the whole of the commode with a protective mildly glossy surface which appears to have age showing a beautiful depth of color and surface to the satinwood beneath; the back demilune fan to the back edge with some old inpainting; the banding to the top with some minor inpainting mainly to the front with some scratches; door fronts in good condition each with a hairline vertical age crack and with some minor inpainting; left side panel with thin vertical age crack with very minor spot of inpainting to the center of the trophy; the right side panel with thin vertical age crack with very minor inpainting and with some very minor loss; each of the side panels with very thin horizontal age cracks to the satinwood top panels which are stable; the uprights dividing the panels with some old losses to the painted foliate bandings; the feet with some small old losses to the painted devices; overall the commode has beautiful color and is extremely well-painted and well-made and maintains the majority of the original painted surface. In the photograph from Apollo Magazine, it shows the commode with different handles to the drawer and with casters.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present commode with its oval paintings en grisaille, the elaborately painted floral swags tied with blue ribbon bows and the ribbon-entwined foliate border to the top is similar to a group of painted satinwood furniture of the late 18th century hitherto unattributed to any specific cabinet-maker.  A number of makers and firms made similar pieces of furniture including Seddon, Sons and Shackleton and George Brookshaw, though at present, there is not enough evidence to suggest a firm attribution of either maker.

The incorporation of mythological and allegorical figures including Diana, goddess of the hunt as well as one of the Muses (Terpsichore, the muse of dancing and song, or Erato, the muse of lyric poetry) and the allegorical figure of Spring, together with the trophies allegorical of music and the arts on this commode, most probably suggest that it was originally part of a suite of furniture made for a music room or lady’s drawing room.  The left hand figure holding the lyre is the aforementioned Muse and is taken from Pergolesi’s Designs for Various Ornaments (1771-1801), Plate 29, no. CXXXXIX, and was published in loose sheets firstly in 1780.

This figure, painted en grisaille appears on a number of related pieces of furniture including on a commode in the Lady Lever Art Gallery (illustrated, Lucy Wood, The Lady Lever Art Gallery Catalogue of Commodes, London, 1994, no. 36, plate 43, pp. 276-282), on a large secretaire cabinet most recently sold at Christie’s New York, October 12-13, 1995, lot 271 (illustrated P. Macquoid, The Age of Satinwood, 1908, color pl. XII) and on a large roll-top bureau bookcase from the Ionides Collection, sold at Sotheby’s, November 1, 1963, lot 184.  Another D-shaped commode with similar beaded boarders and trophies of the arts and similar painted banding to the top is illustrated by F. Lewis Hinckley, Hepplewhite, Sheraton & Regency Furniture, New York, 1987, plate 105, no. 264.

The top of this commode bears striking similarity to a group of tables with an ancient deity in a roundel to the back edge flanked by flowering cornucopia and large painted floral garland swags tied by blue ribbon bows including: a pair of commodes which were with Norman Adams, one of which is painted with the goddess Minerva to the roundel (illustrated, C. Claxton Stevens and S. Whittington, 18th Century English Furniture, The Norman Adams Collection, Woodbridge, 1983, p.340-41); another pair of tables in the Lady Lever Art Gallery has an almost identical ribbon-entwined foliate banding like this table and has large crossed flowering cornucopia centering the top (illustrated, Ralph Fastnedge, Sheraton Furniture, London, 1962, no. 32A).  Another pair of tables (one at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the other at Portsmouth Art Gallery) has very similar tops with oval reserves to the back painted with three putti with wreaths which are flanked by cornucopia and large floral swags (illustrated, Maurice Tomlin, Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of Adam Period Furniture, London, 1982, p. 160, no. S/9).